Oldtown man found guilty of manslaughter

Alexander Malaska, of Pack Horse Trail, in Oldtown was found guilty late Tuesday of voluntary manslaughter in the fatal March shooting of a neighbor- 43 year-old Dennis Liller. Malaska, 69, on the evening of March 28th fired a single shot that wounded Liller in the upper torso before he was pronounced dead. According to the initial police reports, the shooting was triggered by a family land dispute which had been brewing since September. When Malaska and Leroy Robertson were unable to resolve the issue of who owned property where three trees were growing between their two residences. Malaska’s son, Michael, allegedly cut down the trees. Robertson’s daughter, Kelly Spangler, applied for criminal charges against Michael Malaska that had been served in October and are scheduled for court next month. Police were told that Michael Malaska found “No trespassing” signs on the tree stumps Wednesday around 5:30 p.m. and that he took the signs to the Robertson home. When an argument occurred, police were called. Natural Resources Police arrived and the situation was thought to have been resolved. Spangler was notified of the incident by a family member and she and Liller confronted Michael Malaska outside his home. Witnesses told police that Liller and Michael Malaska got in a physical fight and Alexander Malaska came out of his home with a rifle and fired one shot that hit Liller in the upper torso. While found guilt of voluntary manslaughter, he was found not guilty of 2nd degree murder. Sentencing will take place at a later date pending completion of a pre-sentence investigation.